of london



Feb. 9, 1932. w. A. COMLEY 1,844,349

TI CKET I S SUING APPARATUS Filed July 13, 1929 45 turebeyond ,the faceof the Patented Feb. 9, 1932 UNITED, STATES PATENT oFFicE.

'cHARLEs WILLIAM ABREn COMLEY, or LONDON, ENGLAND, assrGNon I'O COMLEYMAUTOMATIC rrcxms LIMITED, or LoNnoN, ENGLAND, A BRITISH COMPANY TICKETISSUING APPARATUS Application .filed July 13, 1829, Serial No. 378,028,and in Great Britain July 17, 1928.

' This invention is'for improvements in or relating to ticket-issuingapparatus of the type wherein intermittently-actuated .feed

mechanism having an operating member,

asuch as a lever, serves to feeda ticket strip to the punchingmechanism. Such apparatus is usually provided with counting mechanismfor registering the number of tickets punched and the'value ofthe faresreceived for the tickets that are issued from the machine, and

1 this invention hasforgits main'object to ensure that the'punchingmechanism and the counting mechanism associated therewith shall not beoperated when no ticket is in the apparatuaor when onlythe end portionof a ticket strip is left in the machine. The invention'is' particularlyapplicable to, and will befdescribed with reference to, ticketpunchingapparatus of the kind described in the British patent specification No.293,883,

although it is not restricted thereto.

Accordingto the invention,there is provided in or for ticket-issuingapparatus of the type described, the combination with the v feedmechanism or the punching mechanism,

or boththese mechanisms, of a locking device therefor controlled by theticket strip, which locking' device is normally held inoperative by thestrip, but is rendered operative to lock 0 one or both of saidmechanisms when the end of the strip leaves it, 'or when a mutilatedportion (e. g. end portion) of the strip registers with it. y Accordingto a feature of the invention, a support over one face of which theticket strip isfed has an aperture normally covered thefstrip, and thelocking device has a controlling part (eg. a lever-arm) urged by aspringto move through said aperture-towards the strip and thereby lock thefeed mechanism, which device is held unlocked when said controlling partis prevented by thestrip from extending through the apersupport overwhich the strip is fed.

According to another feature of the invention, the lockingdevice isarranged to lock and unlock the operating member of the feedmechanism,or of-thepunching mechanism,

(4 7, punching or an operating member common to both these i device foruse in ticket-issuing apparatus.

and a specific construction of ticket-strip for controlling the lockingdevice.

It is to be understood that the terms and ticket-punching used hereininclude printing, impressing or other wise marking a ticket as forcancelling it.

The invention is diagrammatically illustrated, by way of example, in theaccompanying drawings, wherein I Figures 1 and 2 are end elevationsshowing one construction of locking device according to the invention inits inoperative and operative position, respectively, and

Figure 3 shows the end portion of a ticketstrip that controlsthe'locking device.

Like reference characters designate like parts in all the views.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate the invention as appliedtofeedv mechanism and unchin mechanism in ticketunching a a apparatus ofthe kind described in the said specification No. 293,883, an annulus 1Ohaving at one edge a flange 11 is fixed on the frame of the apparatussoas to lie close beside a rotary feed member in the form of a drum orsprocket wheel, not shown, for feeding a ticket-strip 12 to the punchingmechanism. The annulus 10 is of the same diameter as the sprocket wheel,whereof the axis of rotation extends through the centre of the annulus,and the ticket-strip, which has holes 13 for engagement by the sprocketsof the feed member, lies partly on the latter and partly on the annulus,with one edge close to the flange 11. The ticketstrip lies on only apart, c. g. about half of the annular support, which part constitutes anarcuate support for the strip and has an aperture 14 in its facenormally covered by the strip. This aperture is preferably rectangular,but may .member 20 at a convenient distance away from it so that when.these two. members are gripped by one hand and the arm 15 is caused toapproach the handle member 20 the lever 15, 16 will be rockedto operatethe machine.

The locking device aforesaid has the form of-a spring-controlleddouble-ended lever 21, whereof one end 22, which may be rounded or maycarry an anti-friction member, is arranged to enter the aperture 1& andco-act .with the strip 12, and the other end 23 is formed as a catch andis arranged to move into and out of engagement with the notch 18. Whenthe apparatus is loaded and the ticket-strip 12 is being fed to thepunching mechanism the 'e'nd 23 of the lever 21 controlled bya spring121 is held out of engagement with the operating lever 15, 16, as shownin Figure 1, so that this lever can be rocked to operate the. machine.When the ticket strip is completely unwound from its spool and uncoversthe aperture 14, the catch 23 will snap into the notch 18 when themembers 15, 20 have been pressed together, as shown in Figure 2, andwill lock the operating member and prevent the machine from beingworked.

Instead of locking the operating member 15, 16 directly, it may belocked indirectly. For example, a spring-controlled catch 25,

26 such as is usually associated with the operating member and has ahandle member 25 extending alongside the fixed handle portion j detailsof construction described above With- 20 of the apparatus, has its bentarm 26 arranged to lock the operating member by entering a notch 27 inthe boss 19. The looking device 21 may be arranged to control this catch25, 26, for example by co-acting with a stop, such as a notch, providedon it, and hold it against rocking movement in a manner similar to thatdescribed above.

The operating member 15, 16 may be operatively connected with the feedmechanism,

not shown, and the punching mechanism, not shown, by a link 28 and areciprocating mem ber 29, so that the operating member 15, 16

may be considered to constitute a part of each of these mechanisms.

As the feed drum'of the ticket strip may beplaced a short distance awayfrom the punching mechanism, one or more tickets may be in the machineafter the end of the'ticketstrip has uncovered the aperture 14. In thiscase it is desirable to lock the apparatus against further operationbefore the last ticket or two tickets in the'machine have been punched.For this purpose, as shown in Figure 3, the end of the ticket strip maybe provided with a slot, such as 30, or may be otherwise apertured orprepared, for example weakened, so that the locking device will operatewhen this portion or slot registers with the aperture 14;. I v 7 Asillustrated, the last two tickets are left lank, the slot SO-being inthe very last ticket, and the third last ticket being printed, as shown,to provide thereon various designations offares, stages and classes,these designations being arranged in three parallel rows extending inthe direction of length of the strip, the classes being in the middle,and the fares and stages at the two sides. This ticket is thus adaptedfor use with an arrangement of punches as described in the co-pendingBritish patent application No. 20,714/28.

Alternatively,instead of leaving the last two or three tickets blank,they may be printed,

as just described, and marked cancelled before the strip isinserted intothe machine. Further, the aperture in the strip, instead of being a slot30, may open through one side of the ticket-strip, e. g. that side whichlies formofa recess. The invention thus provides not only a lockingdevice controlled by receipt of a fare, unless a ticket is actuallypresent in the machine and is actually punched, whereby the accuracy ofthe readings of the counting mechanlsm associated with the apparatus isenhanced.

Various modifications may be made in the out departing from theinvention.

I claim. 1. In a ticket-issuing apparatus, the comnearest'to the flange11, and may have the 7,95

bination of a ticket strip, feed mechanism F therefor comprising areciprocatory operating member anda locking device for positivelylocking said operating member, which locking device is normally heldinoperative by the strip, but when released by the latter is operativeto lock said operating member at that end of its stroke from which itreturns to its rest position.

2. In ticket-issuing apparatus, the combination of a ticket strip,mechanism associated therewith, an operating member for the latter inthe form of a pivoted lever having a circular boss rotatable about itsfulcrum from normal or rest end position to a second end position, whichboss has a notch in its periphery, and a locking lever, whereof one endis arranged to move into and out of engagement with said notch when thelever is located in its second end position, a spring tending to holdthe locking lever in locking engagement with said notch for positivelylocking said erating member, the

other end of which locking lever is arranged to co-act with said stripand render the locking lever inoperative by holding the first said endout of engagement with said notch.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature. I CHARLES WILLIAM ABREECOMLEY.

